Page 28 of The Second Chance Supper Club

‘Right-o, thanks. I appreciate that. And hey, thanks for saying I could stay for supper.’

She smothered a sigh. Whatever was up with him, he seemed rather subdued. In some ways, Cath felt she’d really rather not know. He’d set them on this new path, changed everything between them. Kicked down and then rewrote the story of their imagined future together. She felt reluctant to get involved again. She’d only just come down off that heart-tearing emotional rollercoaster. And she’d only just begun to find her feet here in Tilldale.

They made their way up the garden. The summer evening still warm for now, the soft light playing on the carpet of grass, shrubs bursting into flower, with clusters of whites and pinks in the borders. A flutter of sparrows twittering as they darted in and out of the beech hedge.

‘Pretty, here,’ Trevor uttered, looking around him.

It is, and it’s all mine, she thought without answering.

No doubt, Will had filled Nikki in by now, but as Cath entered the shed, she introduced her surprise guest. ‘Nikki, this is Trevor … my ex-husband.’ They weren’t quite divorced as yet, but it was imminent. ‘He’s surprised me by turning up out of the blue.’ Cath’s taut face said it all.

Nikki’s eyebrows raised a little. Cath sensed her sympathy as well as her surprise. ‘Hi, Trevor.’

‘Hello.’ He seemed unsure what else to say.

‘Glass of wine, Trevor?’ Cath ventured, rather reluctantly. But she was resigned to her fate; he was already here now, wasn’t he, infiltrating her new ‘gang’. They couldn’t really sit there sipping wine and offer him a mere glass of water, though a part of her would very much have liked to … with a little arsenic chaser.

The group sat talking pleasantly enough about village life, and the many differences between this rural location and suburban Leeds, Trevor’s journey up, general chit-chat really, keeping things light and polite, but the relaxed atmosphere had died for poor old Cath.

Andreas’s honey and fig feta bake was dished out. Although it was delicious, Cath couldn’t help feel it lodging in her throat.

A while later, the conversation turned to hobbies, and that’s when Will and Trevor began to get competitive.

‘So, what do you enjoy doing with your time off, Will?’ Trevor asked.

‘Well, obviously cycling.’ He’d just told him about his cycle repair business. ‘I put in a few fifty milers on the weekends, generally.’

‘Ah, great.’ Trevor was nodding at this point, Cath knowing full well that cycling had never been his forte. The golf course, other than work, was his go-to place where he exhibited his sporting prowess.

‘And then I enjoy the odd hike,’ Will went on. ‘The Cheviot Hills are great here for that. And sometimes, I’ll head up to the Highlands or over to Cumbria. Scafell Pike is a good climb, love that one. Stunning scenery.’

‘Ah, yes, I’ve done that one. Damn good hike, I remember,’ Trevor chipped in, puffing out his chest a little.

Cath looked up, not knowing whether to laugh or expose the truth. Trevor had only ever rambled, and generally to a pub pit-stop at that. Suddenly, he’s scaling Scafell Pike in the Lake District. She was certain they’d only got to the lower slopes of that mountain on their holiday several years ago now. She gave a knowing smile. There was Will talking about his cycling and hiking, and Trevor was suddenly going into one-upmanship. ‘Yeah, I’d love to do some climbing in the Alps next year, actually,’ Trevor added, as though he was Roundhay’s answer to Bear Grylls.

‘Really?’ Cath couldn’t help herself, pursing her lips, with her eyebrows raised in disbelief.

‘Yeah.’ Trevor remained serious.

Hah, perhaps the new bit of fluff was a gym instructor or into serious hiking or something. He’d have his work cut out there then, as he’d never been particularly sporty. But she had a feeling this was all bluff. Did he see Will as some kind of a threat? This was quite amusing.

In response, Will told him about the amazing treks he’d done up the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, recommending certain Alpine routes, adding whether you needed crampons or not at certain times of the year. Interestingly, Trevor went rather quiet at that point.

Cath had excused herself from the group to return to the cottage kitchen and put the final touches to the koftas. She was enjoying a few minutes out, when Trevor snuck up behind her, with empty glass to hand. ‘Just coming for a top-up. Bottle’s empty.’ He then began ferreting in the fridge, looking far too comfortable for her liking. She was regretting her decision to let him to stay for some food.

‘Hey, Cath,’ he said, as he pulled out a new bottle of Sauvignon, ‘this … tonight.’ There was a hint of concern in Trevor’s voice. ‘Well, it isn’t some kind of singles club, is it?’ He’d evidently established that Nikki and Will weren’t an item. ‘No, Trevor, it’s a supper club. But well…’ She couldn’t resist winding him up a bit. ‘We do usually have the lads Andreas and Dan here too, but they couldn’t make it tonight.’ She didn’t enlighten him any further, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell him that they were a couple. Hah, let him stew in his own thoughts.

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah, we get on really well, all of us.’

Life didn’t stop when you left me. I have a new home, and a social life of my own. I’m doing okay. That was what she wanted him to take from that. He didn’t need to know about the recent wobbles, the ongoing hurt, and the loneliness.

‘Right, well, main course is ready.’ She took the koftas out from the grill. ‘You can take these up for me. And after that, you’ll be you fed and watered, and I really would appreciate some time to spend with my friends.’ She spelled out a reminder that he wasn’t to get too comfy. ‘And if you haven’t already booked, you’ll have to get going and see if the pub has any rooms left.’

‘Yep, noted.’

He had to have some other agenda, she mused warily, her guard firmly up. But whatever it was, she’d rather leave it until tomorrow to find out.